Research On The Theme Of Travel Writing By Robert Louis Stevenson

Treasure Island made Robert Louis Stevenson famous all over the world,but the excessive attention to this novel also hindered the academic study of his other works.Under the influence of British literary tradition and his own personality choice,Stevenson created wonderful travel literature works.Stevenson's life was a life of traveling,growing up in marginal culture and living in flowing scenery.Travel writing is the characteristic of his creation,showing a variety of themes.Generally speaking,Stevenson's travel writing includes three themes.The first category is the most classic,which is the theme of children's adventure represented by Treasure Island and Kidnapped.This kind of work has the structure of pursuit,which reproducing the thrilling life,weaving adventure stories in a romantic way.At the same time,it also sustains the author's ardent expectations for imperial teenagers.The second category developed from the activities of treasure hunting and adventure,with the theme of colonial expansion.After the industrial revolution,the rising western powers actively carried out colonial expansion.The works show the colonial consciousness of the empire and people's desire for wealth and resources,praising the glory of " the empire on which the sun never sets",reproducing the life of the colonies.Meanwhile,he also noticed many crises faced by the empire in its heyday,paying attention to the withering and ebbing tide of white people,and implicitly expressed his reflection on the colonial cause.The third category is the theme of identity contradiction.It was triggered by Stevenson's deep understanding and mutual reflection of the colonies and his Scottish identity.Scottish nation is not independent in politics,and backward in economy and marginalized in literature.In colonial times,they shared the glory of the British Empire.But its inferior status is in fact similar to that of the enslaved colony.Scotland is called "the last colony of the British Empire".Based on this,travel writing on the subject of identity conflict is also of special significance for the pursuit of national identity independence.Stevenson's travel writing does not stay on the surface of adventure life,but carries a deeper and more complex theme.Among them,the thinking of colonization and national identity is ahead of time.